Into The Green
27 Jul 2016
Green Flags, green emeralds and green recycling at Haddo this week!
Our first big piece of news this week (actually it came in at the end of last week, but too late to make the blog!) is that we've been awarded a prestigious Green Flag award for the second time. Green Flags are awarded to the very best parks and green spaces across the UK and we're delighted that Haddo has managed to keep the award for another year. Congratulations also to Aden Country Park near Mintlaw which also retained its green flag.
Green Emeralds
A lovely surprise during the wildlife survey on Sunday was this sparkly green Emerald Damselfly, seen just outside the Deer Park Bird Hide in the early afternoon. We usually get Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies at Haddo and this is the very first time we've ever recorded an Emerald Damselfly on the lake. This one's a male- you can tell by the blue patch on its 'tail' which the female doesn't have.
Another 'green' find were our first Dark Green Fritillary butterflies, some on the wild flower meadow but mostly in the new wild flower borders by the Deer Park. They don't look very green at first but if you get a good look at them you can see a pretty deep greenish sheen on the underside of the wings.
And, amazingly to keep with the theme, we've also managed to catch a Large Emerald moth in the moth trap in the wildflower meadow. We've not had the best of luck with the moth trap this year, mostly due to the rubbish weather which means we've rarely had a dry night to put it out, but we had a superb catch from the meadows this week so hopefully things are looking up and we'll be able to include some moth trapping in some of our upcoming walks and events.
Green Art
If you missed the Art In Nature Day on Wednesday then we're holding another one in August- this time on Saturday 20th August. This week's event was superb fun and it's great to see what you can create out of bits and bobs which would otherwise just go in the bin.
We've also got a big fun, family event on Wednesday 3rd August with our Go Wild In The Woods Kid's Bushcraft. We'll be in the outdoor classroom behind the Pheasantry if it's dry (or possibly in the Pheasantry if it's very wet). It's a drop-in event and you can come along any time between 11am and 2pm.
On Friday 5th August we'll also be going Tree Messaging with Petra Vergunst. This is a fantastic family art workshop where you can explore the trees at Haddo. learn about their history and wildlife and get involved in some creative art or writing abot your favourite tree. Booking required you can find out more details on our Events Page